Peace Corps Aspiration Statement and my first steps in meeting it!

As part of one's preparation for the PC, they ask you to write an "Aspiration Statement" before you deploy.

Mine is rather long, (4 pages), but it's included after the jump for those who are interested.

The main theme of the whole thing is INTENTIONALITY.  I want to approach all aspects of my service intentionally, and not just let it fly by me the way life sometimes does.

So, in the spirit of that commitment, I am taking the first step toward that goal today, and leaving on a 11 day silent meditation retreat at the Vipassana Center in Illinois. When I return, it will be full scale packing mode! Literally, I'm flying out the door, late, right now! (Fitting, right?!)

So, cheers!

Take the Poll!

Hey Readers,

Check out the page's new look!  Then, VOTE!  This is your God given natural inalienable eternal right as a reader, but if you don't vote, you can't complain!  SO, down with apathy, the poll is to the right.

I'm still tweaking the new layout...  I want to add a photo-stream over in the sidebar, and I want to figure out how to make the background a separate color over to the sides (past the text), and once I get to Moldova, I'd like to maybe make it a bit more, Moldova-ee, but, for now, this is it!

You know, sometimes ya just need a change.  The poll is open for 17 more days.

I'm Zachariah, and I approved this message.

 

Channeling Moldova

It’s been about a month now since I accepted my invitation to serve as a Health Education Peace Corps Volunteer in Moldova, and recently, I’ve really felt that I’m starting to channel Moldova. This has been brought about by the past month’s activities, which have involved: 1) reading everything I could about Moldovan history, culture, politics, etc., 2) starting to study the language (Romanian), 3) reading lots of current Moldova PCV blogs, 4) reading up on public health and health education in Moldova, and 5) becoming comfortable answering the question “Where is Moldova?” Out of gracious magnanimity for the asker, I usually begin the reply to point five by pointing out many of my friends in Europe don’t know where Moldova is.